Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
Many of us were brought up on tales of “derring-do” and “stiff-upper-lip”, I suppose these are desirable things but if there is a “hidden hand” bringing peaceful deliverance, I for one would like to work with it! In early 1916, the Royal Flying Corps began regulating training standards, with pupils expected to fly at least 15 hours solo. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing demand for pilots at the front, and a lack of resources at the flying schools, meant some students received insufficient training and arrived at operational squadrons unprepared for combat. Partly because of this, casualties rose sharply and by the spring of 1917 the life expectancy of a new pilot on The Western Front could be measured in weeks. More than half the pilots who died in WW1 were killed in training. The aeroplanes were little more than linen-clad thin strips of wood held together with wire and attached to motorised vehicles. No parachutes, these were considered cowardly. For the Sin...